New ‘Pirola’ variant of COVID is spreading fast, has experts concerned
The rapid spread of Pirola “doesn’t look good right now,” Dr. Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in La Jolla, Calif., told Reuters.
The new booster shots, expected to be available later this month, were developed to target the Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5.
Nonetheless, the boosters “will likely be effective at reducing severe disease and hospitalization” from BA.2.86, the CDC states. “That assessment may change as additional scientific data are developed.”
“The vaccine is still going to provide you great defense against illness and death,” Long said.
The rapid spread of Pirola “doesn’t look good right now,” Dr. Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in La Jolla, Calif., told Reuters.
The new booster shots, expected to be available later this month, were developed to target the Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5.
Nonetheless, the boosters “will likely be effective at reducing severe disease and hospitalization” from BA.2.86, the CDC states. “That assessment may change as additional scientific data are developed.”
“The vaccine is still going to provide you great defense against illness and death,” Long said.